My PLN

Building Futures; Occasional Teaching

Toth, E. (2013). Building Futures - Occasional Teaching [Photograph].

On January 17, 2013, I had the opportunity to attend the Building Futures Conference at Brock University. Several workshops were being offered, of which I attended three.  The one I found particularly insightful was the "Occasional Teaching" workshop conducted by Bruce Davey.

Mr. Davey is a retired educator, currently working as an occasional teacher with one of the school boards in Southern Ontario.  His experience gives him insight into what we need to know as we make the transition from being teacher candidates to certified teachers.

The topics Mr. Davey highlighted were very practical and insightful.  They included the following:

• Benefits of occasional teaching
• Challenges of occasional teaching
• How to get a job as a teacher
• Keys to success as an occasional teacher
• Arriving at school
• Preparing for class
• Setting the tone
• Lesson/Day plan
• The end of the day
• Occasional teacher toolkit

Mr. Davey shared many useful instructional strategies with our group.  Throughout the workshop, he emphasized that we need to give respect in order to earn respect, and that as teachers we will need to model the behaviours we expect of each student.  Classroom management is always a priority, and keeping students safe is one of the most important keys to success in occasional teaching.

Mr. Davey also stressed that each and every moment is an interview.  As occasional teachers, we will need to be flexible, prepared and proactive.  We will need to go above and beyond by showing up early, marking whatever we can, and always having a bag of tricks in case of emergencies.

I found his "toolkit" list particularly useful: water, cough candy, a dice/die, paper clips, masking tape, toothbrush/toothpaste, tide-to-go, whiteboard markers, extra pair of glasses, lanyard & whistle, playing cards, stickers, paper plane template, magazine/newspaper and a map.  This comprehensive list provides a window into what a day of occasional teaching might look like, and how I can be more prepared for it.  As a result of Bill 274/298, all teachers in Ontario are now first hired as occasional teachers and then later given the opportunity to transition into permanent positions.  Knowing this, I will certainly keep my notes from this workshop and begin putting together my occasional teacher toolkit so that I will have it ready to go when I need it!

I chose to attend this presentation because it is inevitable that at some point I will be an occasional teacher.  I have taken away a great deal of knowledge and insight that will undoubtedly help me succeed along the way.